Sei Investments Co. Acquires 551 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,755 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $69,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Plancorp LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,130,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 171.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Condor Capital Management boosted its position in AutoZone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,605.88 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,433.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,259.40. The company has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,704.43.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.